SASCOC 2023/24 Strategic Plan; with Deputy Minister

Meeting report

Opening remarks by Chairperson
The Chairperson reminded the Committee that all federations had been invited to this meeting. She asked the Department Acting Director General to explain the apologies.

Opening remarks by Department of Sports, Arts and Culture
Acting DG Dr Cynthia Khumalo noted the presence of Deputy Minister Nocawe Mafu and the apology from the Minister who had other work commitments. She introduced the Department (DSAC) team and noted SASCOC will introduce its team.

Discussion
The Chairperson gave Mr Mhlongo the opportunity to present his email about the agenda. She hoped he appreciated that he could not expect a response from her as it was sent only that morning at 4am.

Mr T Mhlongo (DA) was angry and said he had emailed about meeting procedure and would have appreciated a response. The approved meeting programme included the South African Golf Association. However, the Golf Association was missing from the agenda and there was no explanation. Secondly, there had been no update about the approved oversight visit. He asked that his concerns be considered in the meeting.

The Chairperson said that she was not disrespecting him. She acknowledged that his very valid points must be clarified in the meeting. There had been a problem in the changing of the Parliament programme. This had led to a pattern of cancellations for Committee oversight visits since last year. We tried to apply for the oversight visit for 5 to 9 July but she sees that yet again this is now not possible. We need answers as many Committees had reported this concern.

The Chairperson agreed that the Department should have let us know about the South African Golf Association not appearing prior the time and not via a letter on the day of the meeting. She did receive a report the night before about the Golf Association including problems they experienced. She advised Ms Khan to explain and reflect on the points raised as these were valid points.

Mr D Joseph (DA) said that communication is not consistent and goes off the rail sometimes. He had prepared for GolfRSA and asked if SASCOC had informed the Committee about GolfRSA missing from this meeting as this is what the agenda was about. If not, the Committee must have a discussion about that as he was extremely disappointed and felt completely disrespected. He was not comfortable with GolfRSA not being present and he asked for the way forward.

Mr M Zondi (ANC) agreed.

Ms V Malomane (ANC) suggested Mr Mhlongo concerns be put on the agenda to be discussed at the end of the meeting. She asked that GolfRSA and why they are not at their own presentation be discussed so they can continue with the meeting.

The Chairperson confirmed that the GolfRSA apology did come through to her the previous night and she had asked Dr Khumalo to raise this at the start of the meeting.

Dr Khumalo apologised for not raising the GolfRSA apology. She noted that GolfRSA had been scheduled for a different date and this was changed. They had presented a letter saying that they would be unable to attend this new meeting date as they had a conference commitment for which flights, accommodation and keynote speakers had already been paid for and which was impossible to refund payments for this conference. The Golf Association of South Africa humbly apologised to the Committee for their absence but it coincided with the scheduled conference for which commitments had already been made.

The Chairperson noted the GolfRSA apology and the Committee must reschedule this meeting.

Deputy Minister Nocawe Mafu said that she personally wanted to underscore this apology as it had been communicated very late by the Department to the Portfolio Committee about this apology from GolfRSA. She trusted that the Committee would accept the apology.

The Chairperson thanked her.

Mr Mhlongo said that the 6 May meeting had been scheduled on 8 April. GolfRSA had ample time to cancel this meeting. We found out only a day before the meeting about this late apology.

Mr Mhlongo said that the GolfRSA apology was not enough. The notification of the meeting cancellation had not been done professionally. He found their actions disrespectful. This leaves them to explain to the Committee why it should accept their absence at this meeting. They are taking advantage of the Committee and Members of Parliament by notifying us about the cancellation the night before the meeting. They should account for their actions. He was very disappointed as the Committee let GolfRSA know around 8 April about this meeting. A solution must be found as their action was not appreciated and a harsh letter issued.

The Chairperson answered that it was the Department’s fault for informing the Committee late. The department officials failed us but nevertheless we know now where the problem started. Firstly thank you for acknowledging your fault and the mistake your department has made. The leader of the department got an overview of the meeting also all amendments that had been requested has been adjust to the programme. President Barry Reid from SASCOC was asked to let the Committee know who of their members had arrived and if any apologies were made.

Mr Barry Hendricks, SASCOC chairperson, explained that the SASCOC has the CEO, COO, company secretary and operations manager, Mr Leon Fleiser and Kim Pople as the board member for safeguarding and membership liaison.

Mr Mhlongo moved that the Committee postpone the meeting as the full board component was not present. The SASCOC board consist of 13 members but only two were present. There were no experts and Golf SA is not present. How is that possible?

The Chairperson asked how many board members were present.

Mr Reid replied that only two board members were present in the SASCOC team, Ms Kim Pople and himself. He had received an apology from several board members who were IOC members and were overseas. The other board members are volunteers and they had forwarded their apologies. Mr Reid as elected head was duly representing the members of SASCOC.

The Chairperson asked the Committee to comment on the SASCOC representation and apology.

Ms Van Dyk felt the poor representation by the SASCOC team was unacceptable. It is impossible for two board members to answer all of the Committee’s questions. She mentioned that she had written letters and submitted questions to SASCOC and no responses had been given by them.

Ms V Malomane (ANC) said that it is unfortunate that Members want to reschedule the meeting since apologies have been made prior the time. She requested that they discuss this matter further at the end of the meeting. There are SASCOC board members who are volunteers who work full-time and are required to fulfil their work responsibility. Also the agenda had already been adopted.

Ms F Adams (ANC) fully agreed with Ms Malomane. However, SASCOC members should tell them why they do not recognise these scheduled committee meetings.

The Chairperson said that she must talk to the SASCOC President about the lack of communication. The lack of board attendees was disappointing. The meeting had been planned long before. Parliament must know about these apologies prior to the meeting date so there are no surprises at the meeting. That courtesy must be shown to Members of Parliament. Respect is not being shown.

Mr Mhlongo believed that Ms Malomane and Ms Adams do not believe in consistency and in keeping to the programme as the Committee has worked with different entities – what is so special about SASCOC? However, he suggested they move forward with the meeting as this concern had been undermined by the Chairperson and some Committee members. He asked for his comments to be noted as no entity is more important than the other we should take action on this matter. Many of the Members struggled with connectivity and load shedding and this has led the meeting to be longer than arranged.

Chairperson opening
The Chairperson noted SASCOC had only two board representatives present which the Committee must discuss. It is unacceptable to have two out of 13 board members present for a meeting. We all have a part to play and SASCOC must treat leaders with respect and be prepared for a National Assembly meeting.

Deputy Minister Nocawe Mafu thanked Chairperson for giving her the platform. She partly agreed with what was stated but she suggested that they could work on better programme management.

The Deputy Minister asked that we have systems in place to have better programme management. We deserve a professional explanation why only two of 13 board members are representing SASCOC. However, we should sort this out before the meeting proceedings.

Mr Hendricks understood the frustrations of Members. He felt the need to motivate the fact that senior board members of SASCOC were present including the high performance manager that had prepared the presentation.

Mr Hendricks sincerely apologised to the Committee and agreed that his team should work on their communication skills and management when reporting to Parliament. He acknowledged his team for their presentation and for being well informed and prepared.

Mr Mhlongo said it was not his intention to give the Chairperson a headache. He felt disappointed by SASCOC board members’ actions, reminding SASCOC that they do not understand what it means to be a Committee Chairperson and the difficulties Ms Dlulane is faced with as the Chairperson. He is not satisfied with the apologies as he strongly believes that SASCOC disrespected the Chairperson and the Committee. However, he did not want to take any more time and said the Chairperson should proceed and the Committee listen to the presentation.

The Chairperson replied that the Committee had scheduled this meeting date and expected everyone to be present and well prepared – as you are appointed to do so. The pattern had happened previously with Chess South Africa is now happening with SASCOC. As the Chair, she has to make decisions about when Members are being disrespected.. Once an entity had an agreed programmed meeting with the Committee, the fact that her office had received emails and a letter with apologies was besides the point. This was a long awaited meeting and SASCOC had taken this opportunity for granted.

Mr Mhlongo said that he had consulted with his DA colleagues about their concern if only two SASCOC board members and their one executive will be able to answer satisfactorily all Members’ questions. Ms Van Dyk had been sending SASCOC formal questions in letters and emails to which they need prompt and valid responses. They agreed to participate in this meeting to follow up on this situation.

The Chairperson requested that Mr Mhlongo send all the questions through to the Chairperson’s office to ensure they are answered immediately. She thanked him for his valid points. She asked the Department to ensure that its entities were properly represented at Committee meetings.

Mr B Madlingozi (EFF) said that the Portfolio Committee had given SASCOC numerous chances as they had done this before. He now felt that SASCOC is taking the Committee for granted and disrespecting Parliament. Mr Madlingozi said that if the Committee accepts this behaviour then we are sending a very bad message.

The Chairperson agreed that his points are valid but as a majority the Committee has decided to continue with the proceedings. You are not out of order and we are taking note of your points. She asked the Acting DG to present the SASCOC Overview.

Dr Cynthia Khumalo, Acting DG, said that they would very much improve on how the Department will manage attendees in the future. She thanked the Committee for the guidance on the numbers. She handed over to the DDG to present the SASCOC Overview by the Department.

DSAC overview of SASCOC
Ms Sumaya Khan Deputy Director General : Recreation Development & Sport Promotion, outlined the SASCOC mandate, MTEF allocation and governance matters. SASCOC supports DSAC to achieve high performance in sport by supporting athletes to achieve success in international sport and it is the body that looks after all sporting federations. The Minister met with SASCOC in March 2023 to discuss key issues.

SASCOC 2023/24 Strategic Plan
SASCOC President Mr Brian Hendricks apologised for the lack of SASCOC board attendees at the meeting. The SASCOC Strategic Plan had been submitted to Parliament in March 2023. He noted that since the last general assembly SASCOC had insisted that members had to not be compliant on having a safeguarding policy and many other criteria.

Chess SA and eight other federations were suspended due to lack of compliance, not having a safeguarding policy, or not providing financial statements. Chess SA has not updated its financial statements since 2018.

SASCOC is currently proactively and constructively working with all federations until they are compliant. SASCOC received a letter a week ago from the International Chess Federation which will now be taking over Chess SA to ensure that elections take place with urgency. It will be working with SASCOC to achieve that.

Ms Nozipho Jafta, SASCOC CEO, said that the strategic plan was submitted in March 2023 to Parliament. It had been approved by the Board and by the General Assembly. The process for the plan was having a board strategic session which unpacked and motivated where they want to see SASCOC in the future. Thereafter, they followed through with a management session where management had discussions on how and what they can do to implement it.

SASCOC has eight pillars brand and reputation management; human capital; good corporate and governance ; financial sustainability; stakeholder relations; high performance; advocacy sports transformation; and lead sports movement.

Ms Jafta sincerely apologised about the lack of SASCOC board members and officials.

Ms Jafta said that their strategy goes beyond the 2024 government elections so that they can continue with or without new board members as they prepare for the upcoming 2024 Olympics – so the strategy will be stretched until 2025. The most important aspect was how do we become stabilize our organisation to survive for a long period of time. SASCOC now takes on people with the skills to take SASCOC to the next level.

The strategic pillars are linked to the strategic objectives that include: rebuild brand and brand image, attract new audiences and stakeholders, develop and retain talent, strengthen internal controls to comply with applicable legislation, strengthen the financial position of the organisation and implemented high standards of financial management as well as corporate governance. Secretarial functions had been put into place. Most importantly SASCOC must be accountable for every cent spent. It was rebuilding to ensure internal controls are strengthened. Internal controls are very critical to SASCOC as it was one of the areas where it had failed.

The CEO reminded the Committee of the time SASCOC had financial problems – it now has financial sustainability and renewed finance policies. SASCOC wants to rebuild their relationship with Corporate South Africa. The past weekend as the board members had seen that SASCOC had been signed up for Bidvest sponsorship and will be receiving R66 million rand that will be sustaining SASCOC for the next four years. SASCOC had been building new relationships and rebuilding their relationship with Corporate South Africa. We will be relaunching the Operation Excellence Programme 2023 with our stakeholders. The question we are asked is ‘how will we implement and encourage the system to work?’ We will implement the SASCOC High Performance Plan by finding raw talent in our communities, mobilizing to encourage and inspire through activities to give hope to our sporting movement behind Team SA.

Ms Jafta outlined the SASCOC activities that included: In April we having SASCOC General Assembly; in May Operations Excellence Programme, June Games Delivery African Beach games, International Olympic Day, World Para Swimming Championships in Manchester United Kingdom. August would have the Commonwealth Youth Games and World Beach Games. The programmes will run through to the next financial year with Road To Paris 2024 Olympics and Paralympic Games.

The presentation included quarterly activities, financial statements, cash flow statement, budget for projects and revenue streams.

Discussion
Mr Mhlongo congratulated the newly appointed SASCOC CEO. He was impressed with the presentation and ready to see SASCOC growth in the coming future. This is what he had been waiting to see from SASCOC. He was impressed with the Bidvest R66 million sponsorship endorsed to SASCOC.

Mr Mhlongo raised SASCOC branding. When South Africans searched in the past for information online to find out more about SASCOC you only found negative stories and disputes about SASCOC and this led to a bad impression. However when we search for SASCOC online today the first topic that showed was the Bidvest endorsement. Branding is important as this leads to successful engagement and positive results.

Mr Mhlongo was very impressed with the preparation the SASCOC team has put into their strategic plan. He can see the branding and the mindset is changing with the eight pillars that we were introduced. He suggested that they forward the implementation plan and the new amended constitution. He is looking forward to SASCOC addressing issues that are long overdue and finding solutions. The financials must be explained. He asked for clarity for the amounts in red. Were the amounts in brackets losses? The financial report should be more detailed for the Committee to understand. He asked for information on any outstanding legal cases SASCOC has and the names of federations suspended especially if they are not compliant.

Mr Mhlongo asked if SASCOC had amended the selection process that was outstanding. He requested the overall performance of the Olympic Team and a status update about football. What is the relationship with SAFA and do they attend your meetings and participate? SAFA must be aligned with SASCOC. The change in leadership is self explanatory and the shift in SASCOC would only be positive. We need no excuses. We need implementation for our athletes and a statement on bonuses. We would like to actually see if you have placed bonuses for the games in the financial budget. He reminded SASCOC about what happened to SA athletes abroad where they were booked into 5 star hotels but ended up in 2 star hotels battling to get the resources they need. Update us on the changes made to administration support when going abroad.

Ms Van Dyk said that seeing the Minister is not present but the Deputy Minister is present, the Committee would have liked her overview. She asked why SASCOC had not responded to any of their letters or emails. What progress has been made by SASCOC on the new professional body for sports coaching which was established in 2019 to enable it to become independent? On safeguarding, she expressed her frustration about cases that had been reported to SASCOC but no responses or answers had been given to them. The cases SASCOC has been involved with include GBV, sexual harassment and rape especially where these alleged perpetrators are not members of SASCOC. Has SASCOC dealt with these complaints? She was concerned about who had been supporting the victims. It is all good to have safeguarding in place on paper but has there been any real support from SASCOC’s side? Do the 11 cases reported include any dance instructors? She asked about a case involving a dance instructor.

Ms Khan interjected and said that Members can write to the Minister for a response.

The Chairperson asked Ms Khan not to interrupt.

Ms Van Dyk said that is fine. She accepted Ms Khan’s request. She requested the credentials of Hope Maimane a dance instructor from SASCOC and the Department. Mr Mamane had been giving dancers their Protea colours. Mr Mamane had not graduated himself as he was kicked out of the Waterfront Theatre School but he graduates others. How was it possible for SASCOC to allow illegal teachers to be responsible for awarding dancers Protea Colors. Has there been an investigation of this case?

On the topic of credentials what happened to the Netball case where the player Annie Kloppers lost her credentials. Why is no fair process being followed by the Department and SASCOC? This is of great concern. No SASCOC officials were available to answer questions on Netball. She is still waiting for answers. Is the SA Body of Dance registered and are their policies in place?

She asked SASCOC and DSAC to provide the Committee with the number of national federations that are compliant and presented audited financial statements, holding of AGMs and good governance. Have all non-compliant federations without a safeguarding policy been suspended?

On the suspension of Chess SA, the previous illegal board of Chess SA which was supported by SASCOC and funded by the Department, has not produced financial statements and its provinces had not even produced letters of good standing. This went against the SASCOC constitution so why had it not acted against this? She requested the financial statements. The Department is required to monitor how finances to entities are spent. Which board does SASCOC recognise because it seems as if it and the Department went against a High Court order? Can SASCOC explain why they are paying for the illegal group’s court case as we have a letter to prove the illegal group were negotiating with SASCOC. This interference had been the problem with Chess SA. Now that the Chess SA has been suspended, who will be responsible for organising Chess SA’s national events and award ceremonies? How do SASCOC and the Department ensure that athletes will not be disadvantaged by the boardroom fights of Chess SA. None of the two groupings or board factions should be allowed on this interim committee because they are biased – especially those mentioned in the 26 April media statement. She asked that the SASCOC President make a commitment to the Committee that these people will not be part of the interim committee. She will provide the media statement to Department, Committee and the Ministry. How has SASCOC assisted Chess SA to become compliant? She asked for a progress report on this. How does SASCOC ensure federations are compliant?

Ms Malomane asked for the SASCOC President’s input on accountability and compliance. Can SASCOC provide a figure on how many federations are compliant in producing audited financial statements, holding AGMs, provision of good governance and which had been the problematic federations to date? The National Lottery Commission (NLC) reported recently on the number of federations rendered non-compliant that must still account for funds provided by NLC as they had not given a progress report. How does SASCOC ensure federations are compliant and account for funds allocated to them? In May 2021 the Portfolio Committee requested that SASCOC facilitate the rival groups within the Chess SA board. It seemed that Chess SA challenges continue despite the intervention. She asked what SASCOC has done to date to resolve this important matter. She requested that on National Day when SASCOC will be celebrating and spreading awareness by holding games in communities and fellowship fun walks and having a Golf Day, that one of their communities be chosen as well to spread the message across the country.

Ms D Sibiya (ANC) thanked SASCOC for the successful presentation. On the suspension of federations, it was noted that the legal department had detected an unstable funding model for the annual grants as they are inconsistent with the goals of the federation and at times are not allocated to the federations. Can SASCOC explain when they are going to fix this challenge or have they already fixed it?

Mr Zondi agreed that the strategic plan presentation was successful. The presenter knew what they were talking about and understood how far SASCOC has come and where it found it itself as an entity with new leadership direction. The 2021/22 SASCOC Annual Report noted 11 cases involving SASCOC intervention. He asked for a progress update on these cases. What is SASCOC doing to strengthen the quality of safeguarding?

The questions sent through from Mr Adams were read out as he was offline due to load shedding: The SASCOC Change Commission had changed its name to National Women Commission in Sport. Have there been changes to the mandate and deliverables of this commission? SASCOC took the Committee through the distribution of the employment packages. Have the funds been effectively distributed or are there challenges? Will the fund be sufficient for all beneficiaries?

Chairperson Dlulane thanked Committee members for their professionalism and motivating for the growth of entities. She thanked the Department for its overview. She told SASCOC that it was a pleasure having the board presenting a successful presentation – something they have been longing to hear from the SASCOC team. Well done and thank you to Bidvest for the sponsorship to help operations with excellent programming. This will ensure that SASCOC will receive the necessary support in the build up to the Olympics. It must make it a priority for any additional funds to support athletics at Paris 2024 Olympics and Paralympic Games. She noted the request for the independent review into South Africa’s performance at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games and the lessons learned. Knowing that there were challenges, how will SASCOC be better prepared for the next Olympic Games?

In May 2021 the Committee requested SASCOC facilitate the rival groups within the Chess SA. Board. Despite the intervention, it seemed that this challenge continued. What has SASCOC done to try and resolve this. Is it the one faction that made you do what you have done?

SASCOC response
President Brian Hendricks replied on behalf of the board that had been managing this organisation for two years that they have been working very hard to bring SASCOC from where it was, through the challenges to what it has become and its fruits, with the intensive help of the new SASCOC senior management staff.

The strategic plan as seen in the presentation will be sent to the Committee including the new constitution; the implementation plan is now being worked on by the CEO and her senior team. In June the board charter; finance policy and all the other policies will be adopted to enable this organisation to smoothly and professionally account to our stakeholders. The 2021/22 financial statements can also be provided. The 2022/23 audit is currently taking place. The R75 000 showed in the presentation as a negative figure was an expense and not a loss. The financial report shows that we started the year off with a healthy balance. We will ensure that this year finishes with a healthy balance.

SAFA attends our meetings regularly thus far. We have a healthy relationship with amateur stakeholders and SAFA has sent all the membership criteria to SASCOC. He had a meeting with their team a few weeks ago.

On the athlete bonuses, we constantly work with stakeholders including the Department and NLC to ensure our athletes receive the incentives which differ per event.

For the turnaround strategy, we have introduced our eight pillars as part of the new strategic plan. The final pillar is the Sports Movement plan which we feel is key in assuring that we will not only be developing athletes but ensure that they become successful citizens after their careers. The SASCOC General Assembly took the decision to ensure that the professional coach body is an independent body that operates on its own.

Eight federations were suspended. Chess SA challenge has come on since 2018. The new SASCOC board has tried to be extremely unbiased with Chess SA to inform them of the criteria for compliance. We will be having a general assembly meeting with all provincial stakeholders, not just the current executive, on 20 May to provide a framework where we can determine the problems and how we can correct Chess SA. This will also include the International Chess Federation (FIDE). At the last general assembly they asked the current Chess SA president, Mr du Toit, to make a presentation but it then took the decision to suspend Chess SA and the other of the eight federations. The Chess SA board was not accountable to the provinces, which is not a healthy governance position, plus it is not compliant with a safeguarding policy or financial statements. We are working constructively with all these federations to achieve compliance. On the High Court decision, SASCOC had taken all of those things into account with Chess. We are now working with FIDE to correct the situation over the next months in this important national federation.

When one has these internal challenges with a federation, SASCOC usually refers it back to the federation to resolve the matter such as the Netball matter. SASCOC will not interfere with internal processes unless the dispute is raised with SASCOC.

SASCOC would like to expand their community involvement and programme. The Commonwealth Game Changer Programme has been established for two years in Khayelitsha. We will definitely work together on the suggestion to go to other communities that are in need of sport activities and facilities.

Mr Hendricks said that their relationship with the Ministry and government is on a good footing. We are working with government on fixing compliance. We had a big Indaba two months ago with government, stakeholders and all federations were involved to see where the need was and where SASCOC could change it. They are working as a team now. SASCOC is trying to institute national database and national IT system that will enable SASCOC and the Department to work even more closely on who is compliant and the criteria for compliance in sport. The SASCOC Gender Commission has not changed its name. They are now working with SASCOC stakeholders with their own new strategic plan. All the Presidential Stimulus Package (PSP) funding distributions were accounted for to the Department for every sent used.

CEO Ms Jafta replied that the eight legal cases are at a sensitive state as they are mostly HR related. There is a case with one of our employees dealing with incapacity. We have the case of the previous CEO where his kids want to fight SASCOC saying that their father was dismissed unfairly. Mr Ravi, the previous CEO, wanted a relief of some sort. These cases are now in the hands of the legal team. There is a case of a young man alleging his office was bugged and they wanted SASCOC to pay, as he was arrested. He wants to sue SASCOC as he was locked up and now cannot find a job but there is not real evidence but it is still with the lawyers. There will not be any more delays or excuses about the commission of enquiry recommendations and they have attended to most of those recommendations. No more excuses were needed; just implement the recommendations.

Ms Patience Shikwambana, SASCOC Chief Operating Officer, explained about the eight suspended federations that when you become a SASCOC member, you comply with the norms and standards of SASCOC. There is a member norms and standards score sheet where you score yourself on elections, international affiliation, membership letters, constitution, meeting minutes, audited financial statements, annual reports and calendar of events. This give a trail or background of what the entity did in the past year. Governance structure is important to know about and their provincial footprint and their facilities. We also look at transformation and demographics. She listed the eight federations that were suspended. With Chess SA it was not only the non-compliance but also the impasse that it had reached which caused disrepute to the federation. SASCOC was excited that FIDE had come on board to assist. The athletes are not going to suffer as the appointed delegate has informed them that events continue as well as internationally.

SASCOC had 11 safeguarding cases as reported but more have since been lodged. Four cases have been dealt with. Some cases are still being dealt with internally within the federation. Some are delayed as the victims are not willing to be involved or otherwise they are being dealt with by SAPS and the matter is then sub judice. On safe guarding, SASCOC is held accountable for these cases of our members. We make it clear in safeguarding that the vulnerable group must have a safer environment so that they able to compete without favour and hindrance. SASCOC is unable to discuss in full about all cases because federations have autonomy on how they run affairs and some are handling their cases on their own. However, SASCOC does intervene to help federations to sort out some of these cases. The dance sport case had not been filed with SASCOC. Some of the cases are out there but not reported to SASCOC but it does encourage the member federations to update SASCOC quarterly on their cases.

All the PSP funding had been managed very well and the SASCOC member federations appreciated the support during Covid. SASCOC has appointed an intern this year to implement the safeguarding policy to effectively support the victims.

Certain clubs were given funding by the NLC that were not affiliated to a federation and these clubs did not account for the funding. NLC has learnt that any future application from the sport sector must be managed by the national federation.

Mr Leon Fleiser, SASCOC High Performance General Manager, spoke about the Tokyo review report that had been finalised and given to the Department. The key outcome is to have funding for the preparation and communication with athletes. SASCOC has already had two indabas speaking to athletes. SA’s COVID tough lockdown was one of problems that affected athlete preparation for Tokyo. For the 2024 Olympic preparations, part of the big Bidvest sponsorship is the relaunch of the Operation Excellence programme which will now be called the Bidvest Operation Excellence programme to help fund the top athletes. However, the money is coming now which is only a year before the actual Olympics. A big emphasis is Los Angeles 2028 to ensure a well rounded preparation. Our main medals come from Athletics and Swimming. But all the federations can apply. As per the selection process 2019 general meeting, the person must qualify according to the Olympic standards, are in good standing with no doping offences and have a valid South African passport.

Mr Hendricks apologised to Ms van Dyk and committed to answering her written questions over the next week.

Department response
DDG Khan replied that on accountability, if the federation is not compliant we do have both financial and non financial policies for funding. You must meet the criteria for funding. One must comply with the PFMA and have annual financial statements, activities, and a business plan. If not in place, we do not fund. DSAC funds about 60 federations and the budget transfer to NGOs is around R117 million. This is not a lot of money with so much to do. We do fund category A and B federations. To reprioritise funding for 2024 Games, if a federation is not compliant we can take those funds to reallocate them to where the need is greatest. DSAC has been an enabler and lobbied the NLC for medal hopefuls for the last two Games. SASCOC has now dedicated Bidvest funding for the OpEx programme.

Follow up questions
Mr Mhlongo was concerned about the questions not answered. Transparency and being honest from day one are key. The Committee needs more details on the legal cases that are going through court. SASCOC must have details of the legal fees in their financial documents. It must find assistance in their finance administration department and please tell us what the suspension process is.

Ms Van Dyk asked the Chairperson if she can send all her questions through within seven days. She referred to her Written Parliamentary Question No 1044 about the previous Chess SA funding for which she had received no response.

SASCOC response
The SASCOC President replied about Chess SA legal matter saying that he can state categorically that SASCOC has not taken any sides and in trying to solve the problems Chess SA is faced with. It is not engaging with Chess SA in any other way but only supporting it to become compliant. He is reluctant to have board members take part in any dispute process which should be independent. Let FIDE and SASCOC staff be part of the dispute process and whoever is going to be independent.

SASCOC CEO Ms Jafta replied that the request about the three cases legal fees would be given a written feedback within seven days.

Department response
Mr Simphiwe Mncube, Chief Director: Federations Support, replied that the Department had no relationship with any chess groups or was supporting it in any form or providing funding. The last time it funded Chess SA was 2016. Its Legal Services had advised the Department not to be involved in any Chess SA legal case. At this point it is not about disputes between those parties but about suspension due to non compliance matters. If a sport body is not compliant with SASCOC, this means funding cannot be provided. The Department has sought to close the gaps and there is a joint committee with SASCOC. It wants to see a business plan for three years to ensure better planning and efficiency.

The SASCOC President replied that of the eight federations, some of them have started to comply.

The Deputy Minister said she is happy with the progress of the safeguarding policy and she believes it should be a standing item.

The Chairperson noted that the SAFA Meeting on 19 May is going to be a physical meeting although the SAFA President is not going to be present as the Committee has been given a venue slot for the first time and it does not want it to be forfeited. She asked that Committee members not to be hot-headed.

The SASCOC President clarified that the Chess SA meeting will be a virtual meeting on 26 May.

The minutes of 2 May were adopted.

The Chairperson adjourned the meeting.